Various approaches of teaching veterinary parasitology

In this paper, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches of teaching veterinary parasitology, including the disciplinary, the problem-oriented and combined approaches. In the disciplinary approach, parasitology is taught in the classical manner as a coherent subject, covering parasite morphology, biology, molecular biology, epidemiology, pathology, immunology, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, therapy, control, and prevention. Problem-oriented teaching approaches the subjects starting from diseases in animal species or from organ systems or other objectives (e.g. food safety); it also tackles training of skills for problem solving and self-learning. Combined approaches include elements of the disciplinary approach and those of other methods. A combined approach of teaching veterinary parasitology, including basic disciplinary teaching of at least 70-90 h, and additional problem-oriented education, was recently proposed in a resolution by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology [WAAVP News Lett. 5 (1) 3-4]. In 1999, a new curriculum has been established at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Berne, originally planned as a combination of organ-focused and problem-based approach. This model was soon identified to cause problems in teaching some disciplines, including infectious diseases. Conversely, the short-term experiences with this combined approach also confirmed some advantages of problem-oriented teaching in other, mainly clinical domains. Nevertheless, closer interdisciplinary contact and collaboration--especially in elective teaching--was enforced between paraclinical and clinical teaching by reforming the curriculum. However, it turned out that large student numbers in relation to the resources of manpower, rooms and finances limited the workability of the curriculum. Therefore, further and probably continuous improvement of the curriculum is necessary.